Jake Gyllenhaal and Benedict Cumberbatch May Star in Drama ‘Rio’

It seems that Jake Gyllenhaal and Benedict Cumberbatch will be taking a trip to Brazil in the near future. But given their packed schedules, it’s not yet clear when. This morning it was confirmed by Variety that both are in talks to star in Rio, which will be produced and financed by Studiocanal, and if both do sign on, both actors will also produce via their production companies Nine Stories Productions and Sunny March, respectively.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film will follow a financial reporter (Gyllenhaal) who travels to Rio de Janeiro to visit his wealthy friend (Cumberbatch), only to get sucked into a plot to fake his friend’s death. The script is being written by Steven Knight, the screenwriter behind TV series such as Peaky Blinders and Taboo, as well as films like Allied, Burnt, and A Hundred Foot Journey.

Guadagnino is most well-known for the 2015 film A Bigger Splash starring Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes. Around the festival circuit, he has been receiving buzz for his film Call Me by Your Name starring Armie Hammer as an American who has a love affair with an American-Italian young man in the summer of 1983 in Northern Italy. Suspiria, a dark thriller about ballet dancers,will be released later this year, starring Tilda Swinton, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Dakota Johnson.

Cumberbatch can next be seen as Dr, Stephen Strange in Thor: Ragnarokand will be portraying Thomas Edison in The Current War beside Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, Tom Holland, Nicholas Hoult, and Katherine Waterston. Next year, look for him to reprise Dr Strange in Avengers: Infinity War, and also to voice Shere Khan in Andy Serkis’ Jungle Book, which also stars the voice talents of Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Naomie Harris, Freida Pinto, and Andy Serkis.

Gyllenhaal recently finished his Broadway run in Sunday in the Park with George, and can next be seen in Korean-American film Okja beside Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, and Lily Collins. Given he also starred in Prisoners with Dano, he will also be in Paul Dano’s directorial debut Wildlife with Carey Mulligan. He will also play the lead in Stronger about a Boston Marathon bombing survivor.